Woman sets herself on fire in U.S. Rep. Danny Davis' office in Chicago

Updated on: August 31, 2016 / 10:22 AM
/ CBS/AP

CHICAGO -- Police say a woman walked
into U.S. Rep. Danny Davis’ office on Chicago’s West Side, drank
out of a bottle of hand sanitizer, poured the sanitizer over herself and set
herself on fire with a lighter.

Authorities haven’t identified the
woman who was taken to a hospital in serious condition with burns. Police say
her condition has stabilized.

Davis wasn’t in the office
at the time.

A news release from Davis’ office says the woman came in around 3
p.m. Tuesday.

Davis says he doesn’t know
why. He says the woman only spoke with office staff briefly before picking up
the hand sanitizer. Staff responded with a fire extinguisher, but the woman ran
out while still on fire.

Davis is a Democrat who
was first elected in 1996.

According to CBS Chicago, Davis served as alderman of Chicago’s 29th Ward from 1979 to
1990 and as a Cook County commissioner from 1990 to 1997, before going to
Congress.